Let the Capitol Hunger Games begin!
by Cinna and his Clothes
Summary: The Hunger Games using the Capitol children is coming on. Follow the whole thing in the eyes of Rhea Lotus...
1. President Snow's relative

_Oh god _I think to myself. _Why? _I live in the Capitol. I thought I was safe from the Hunger Games. But no. Not even Capitol children are safe. No Capitol children are ever safe. All around me, girls with dresses every colour of the rainbow, boys in shirts and ties. We enter the roped off area. I kiss my younger brother on the cheek, and leave him to go to the girl section. I know these next few hours will be hell for him. He, and I, are both likely to get picked. We are President Snow's brother's son's son and daughter. This Hunger Games held for the Capitol children who are "directly related to those who held the most power". President Snow is our second uncle. We are directly related those who held the most power. And yet we _still _have no idea how this reaping is going to work.

As the clock strikes twelve, the last few children hurry in and take their places. I do not understand that if only kids related to powerful beings are to be reaped, why does every kid in the Capitol have to come? I soon find out.

'Greetings, ladies and gentleman of the Capitol. I am President Paylor, as you all know. This is the reaping for the 76th, and last, annual Hunger Games, which will be held using children from the Capitol. Now, here's how this is going to work. There are seven living victors here right now; Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Annie Cresta, Johanna Mason, Enobaria Keating, Haymitch Abernathy and Beetee Longing. We have a list of all the children directly related to those once in power, this list has ninety-six names on it. Each victor will choose one male name, and one female name from this list to be entered into the Hunger Games, if you are chosen the victor who chose you will be your mentor. This will mean that we will have fourteen tributes. The last ten tributes will be reaped from a pool with every Capitol child's name in it, if you are a regular child that is chosen, you will be appointed on of the victors as your mentor. So, to conclude, this Hunger Games will be held using fourteen Capitol children directly related to those in power, and ten regular Capitol children.'

There is a haunting silence as everybody struggles to digest all this information. So _that's _why all the children have to attend. I feel a tiny bit better, knowing that ninety-six kids are directly related to those in power. Only fourteen will have to go into the arena. Though I still have a high chance of getting picked, it is much lower than I thought it would be.

'Now,' says President Paylor, 'I am going to read out the list of the children directly related to those in power. If I read your name, please stay in the roped off area. First I will read the females.' She begins to read.

'Anthea Andrews, Caitlin Appleby, Themis Arbritch, Hestia Aria, Hera Aria…' The list goes on and on. I don't listen until she gets to the last names starting with l.

'Daphne Leso, Diana Leso, Sabrina Little, Kali Lobes, Rhea Lotus…' Even though I knew my name would be called, my stomach still squirms when I hear it. I am in a daze for the rest of the reading, the only name that catches my attention is 'Sabrina Snow', because it is President Snow's granddaughter, whom is my friend and relative. She finally finishes the girls with 'Kynthia Zary', and then asks all the girls whose names were not called to leave the roped off area. I look around at all the girls that remain stationary and find Sabrina Snow. I hurry over to her. She looks distraught.

'I'm going to get picked.' She whispers.

'Maybe not…' Even though I know in my heart that she will. I don't listen to any of the boy's names, except when she gets to 'Frey Lotus' when I search through the crowd of boys to find my brother looking horribly sad. She finally reaches the end of the boys and then asks all the boys whose names have not been called to leave the roped off area. I notice that there is a lot more girls than boys. I suddenly become aware of the line of victors at the back of the stage. I wonder which victor I would like if I am chosen. Enobaria scares the living daylights out of me, do I don't want her. Haymitch and Beetee are both quite old and Haymitch is a drunk, so maybe not either of them. Johanna also scares me a bit, so I don't really want her. But I would be okay with Katniss or Peeta or even Annie. Johanna is the first victor to take the list. I suddenly find I am _praying _that it's not me.


	2. That's my name

Paylor steps up to the microphone once again.

'Ladies and Gentleman, may I introduce, Johanna Mason, victor!' The crowd claps politely. Paylor hands Johanna the two lists, the female and the male.

'Now,' Johanna says, 'for the female, I think I will choose Sabrina Snow!' Sabrina clutches my arm and when I look at her, I see that she has gone white as a sheet. She slowly, shakily walks up to the stage and takes her place beside Johanna.

'And for the boys, I will choose Pan Chatburn!' A boy with long, brown hair, who looks about fifteen, walks up to the stage. He too, has gone very pale. He looks familiar, but I can't put a finger on who he is. Johanna looks triumphant as she and her two chosen tributes move back, and Enobaria steps up to the stage. I see her fang like teeth peeping out from her mouth. I am scared of her, but nowhere near as much as Frey is. He cries when he sees her on television and screams when he hears her name. If he gets chosen by her… He won't survive. Paylor introduces Enobaria and then hands the microphone to her. Enobaria studies the lists for a while before speaking.

'For the girls, I am thinking Godiva Barnett.' I hear a cry from behind me and see a girl, looking about thirteen, my age. She walks slowly up to the stage and takes her place.

'And for the boys… maybe… Frey Lotus.' I scream. I want to wake up from this horrible nightmare. Frey can't have been picked! Enobaria could not have picked him! I hear Frey's screams echo across the walls of what used to be President Snow's mansion.

'No! Frey!' I cry. But there's nothing I can do. I watch as Frey walks stiffly up to the stage, whimpering. He takes his place next to Enobaria and begins to sob. Enobaria looks pleased. _Why would she be pleased? _I wonder. But I don't have time to ponder on that because Peeta Mellark steps up to the stage. He looks extremely unhappy with the whole arrangement. He is introduced by Paylor, before he steps up to the microphone.

'I just want to say, before I say the names, is that I am terribly sorry for who I pick.' I decide that I like Peeta and that if I get chosen I want to be on his team. Paylor hands him the lists. A minute passes. Then another. Then finally after ten minutes he speaks in a hauntingly quiet voice.

'For the girls, Maia Frost.' A tall girl with curly hair walks up to the stage silently. She appears calm and ready. She takes her place beside Peeta and closes her eyes.

'And for the boys, Vulcan Tiller.' A large boy who looks eighteen saunters up onto stage and takes his place.

'Yes!' I am astounded. This boy _wants _to go into the arena? That's not good. He must know how to fight. They move back and the spotlight is replaced by Beetee. He is welcomed and introduced, and then he peers at the lists closes. After about a minute, he speaks shakily.

'For the ladies, I'm sorry but Themis Arbritch.' A girl, about seventeen, walks up to the stage. She does not appear happy, she does not appear sad. It's hard to tell what she's feeling. The boy that Beetee calls out I do know.

'Charon Shaman.' Sirius Shaman was the vice-president, before the rebellion. He was killed only a couple of weeks ago. Charon Shaman is Sirius Shaman's son. Charon also goes to my school. I think he is fifteen. He slowly walks up and takes his place next to Beetee. Next up is Haymitch. For once, he's not drunk. He only gives the lists a quick glance before he speaks.

'Now, for the girls, I am thinking perhaps Daphne Leso.' There's a cry from two people right in front of me. Two almost identical twins embrace, sobbing. One of them mounts the stage and looks at the floor as tears splash down her face. The one still in the crowd screams and thrashes around, and a couple of older girls have to control her. Haymitch moves on to the boy, obviously to take the attention away from the girl.

'For the boys… Thor Rockwell-Marron.' A huge, blonde boy walks up to the stage, and I swear I can feel the ground shake every time he takes a step. Haymitch looks pleased with the boy, and pitying with the girl. They move on to the next victor, the only noise breaking the silence is the sobbing of the twin. Annie steps onto centre stage. I notice she tears up slightly at the sight of us. She takes the list from Paylor and stares at it for a few moments. She then quietly says.

'I'm sorry but for the girl… Rhea Lotus.'

That's my name…


	3. Her innocence

What? My name... I suddenly realise what this means. I, Rhea Thalia Lotus, have to go into the 76th Annual Hunger Games, with twenty three other Capitol children. I slowly walk up to the stage and mount the steps. My lips tremble but I make myself look out at the hundreds, maybe thousands, of Capitol citizens staring at me. I see my parents, tears dripping down their cheeks, no doubt because they have most likely lost their two only children forever. I sit in silence as Annie chooses the boy tribute.

'I'm sorry too… Jacob Blair.' A scrawny boy steps up onto stage. He has olive skin and dark hair. He looks very scared. And of course last is Katniss. She steps up onto stage. She takes the list and looks at it for a while, before deciding.

'The girl will be Juno Housley.' A small cry comes from the roped off area. I know I would hate to be this girl. Just when she thought she would be spared, just when she thought she might be safe, she is called. I look at the girl as she emerges from the crowd. She is a tiny thing, with light hair. I guess that she is about twelve. I see Katniss looking distraught. She seems to have brought back some memories to Katniss. She quickly moves on to the boy, who is an average looking boy named Bran Madden-West. Paylor speaks.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, we must now move onto the ten regular tributes. May I ask every child between the ages of twelve and eighteen that are not in the roped off area to enter the roped off area, and everybody who is in the roped off area to leave it.' All the children who are confined in the roped off areas run, relieved, to their families. Paylor steps up to the reaping ball.

In half an hour, there are ten more, frightened looking tributes on the stage. A tiny, twelve year old girl named Penelope Star is appointed to Annie as her mentor. She is so timid and frightened, she can't say a word. I decide to try and look after her. As soon as that is over, one by one, each mentor's group is marched into the mansion to say goodbye to their families. Annie's group is second last. We are taken into a small room with a few velvet couches. I am separated from Penelope and Jacob. My parents burst into the room.

'We- we thought that at the end of the day we would at least have one child left…' My mother babbles.

'Honey, you could win this!' Father says. I am about to tell him that I am so unprepared that there is no way I can win, when he continues.

'Everybody else is just as unprepared as you.' I realise that that is true. Maybe I can win this… But that would mean Frey dying… I can never let that happen.

'Maybe…' I say. They leave. My next visitor is Phoebe. She is my best and only friend. She comes and gives me a hug.

'I made you something.'

'What is it?' I ask curiously. She hands me a bracelet. It is a mixture of tiny, coloured plastic beads. In the centre is some little wooden blocks that spell out the words 'Win For Me'. I start crying all over again.

'Thank you. I'll try.' She leaves and I am left all alone, in a world of sadness and pain. Paylor comes in and tells me it's time to go to the training centre. With a heavy heart, I follow her directions. I am shoved into a black chariot with Annie, Penelope and Jacob. None of us speak, which suits me just fine. We reach the training centre and are sent up to the number four floor. I assume this is because Annie is from district four. We are shown into the dining area, but Annie keeps me back. When the other two are out of earshot, Annie speaks.

'Rhea, please, could you share a room with Penelope? She's so frightened and sad too. Her mother and father died during the rebellion, and no one came to visit her in the mansion.' I think about how much this girl has been through and how hard it must be for her.

'Of course! I will look after her too.' Annie looks relieved.

'Thank you!' We enter the dining carriage where food even _more _exquisite than the stuff we eat at home sits. I can only eat one bowlful of chicken soup before I am too nervous to eat any more. I notice Penelope doesn't eat a thing.

'Hey, Penelope, aren't you hungry?'

She looks at me with this sad kind of smile, and then a diamond tear rolls down her cheek.

'No.' It's the first time I hear her voice. It's sweet, but not sugar-coated as some people's voices are.

'I haven't been hungry since my mother was shot by Katniss Everdeen.'


	4. Not yet broken

I slide into bed, stroking the slippery silk covers. It took me a while to figure out who Penelope's mother was, until I remembered the night when the rebellion was in full swing, when on television they did the latest coverage on the rebellion, and they did a tragic tribute to a woman found lying just inside her apartment, with Katniss' signature arrow still in her heart. Penelope explained to me how she and her father were out shopping that day. As they were walking home, some Peacekeepers thought her father resembled one of the rebels, Castor or something. They took him away and she never saw him again. So she walked home, only to find her mother's dead body in their apartment. And she has never been hungry since.

'But you couldn't have lived that long without eating.' I had exclaimed.

'Oh I ate, Rhea, I was just never hungry.' Was her answer. Right now I have to get some sleep, because tomorrow is the chariot rides. A different rebel is appointed for each person's stylist. No one will have a prep team. One person might even be lucky enough to get Paylor. I lie there, crying, until sleep begins to mingle with reality, and eventually I am tugged into a world of dreams.

_I walk home hand-in-hand with my father. With my free hand I hold a sparkly pink gift bag. Suddenly, a group of three peacekeepers approach us._

_'Excuse me, could you come with us.' One says, signalling to my father._

_'Why?' He asks. _

_'You look like one of the suspected rebels. Come with us.' The same one repeats. Before he can say anything they grab him and drag him away. I scream and shriek for him to come back. I watch as he attempts to push the peacekeepers to the ground. The peacekeepers punch him and the smash his head in with a pan. I run home, snowflakes drifting down and settling on my sleeves. But I can't admire them. I open the door and there, with an arrow pierced through her heart, is my mother._

I am startled awake by someone shaking me.

'Rhea! Rhea!' The face of Penelope swims in my gaze.

'Penelope!' I gasp. She looks concerned. I forgot I was sharing a room with her. I see grey circles under her eyes and feel bad.

'I'm so sorry, did I wake you up?' I ask.

'No, I was awake when you started screaming, although it did distress me a little bit.'

'Sorry,' I repeat.

'Don't be,' she says.

'Penelope, could you tell me exactly what happened that day?' I ask.

'What day?' She replies softly.

'The day your parents…' I can't bring myself to say the word. But she knows what I mean.

'Died?'

'Yes, you don't have to though, and I'm sorry if it upset you.'

'No, it's fine.' She says.

'Well, I guess it all started when father and I were walking home from the shops. We had been shopping for nearly the whole day to get food and presents for mother's birthday, which was the next day. Anyway, we were walking home and suddenly I tripped and fell in the snow. I dropped the bags I was carrying and all of the food spewed out. Several starving people grabbed up as many cans of food as they could. Anyway, I realised that my father had stopped to talk to someone, and hadn't seen me fall. So I picked up all of the remaining food and got up, only to find that my father was handcuffed and being dragged away by peacekeepers. I caught up to them and asked them where they were taking him. They told me that he looked like one of the rebels on the loose in the Capitol, Castor I think his name was. I told them that he wasn't Castor, and one of them kicked me in the stomach so that I tumbled into the snow. The last words my father said to me were 'Penelope, please!' And then the peacekeepers knocked him out so he could speak no more. I should have gone after him… Should've saved him…' Her eyes fill with tears and I know that she can't say anymore. I pull her onto my lap and rock back and forth for hours.

Eventually she drifts off to sleep. I don't though. My mind cannot stop thinking about my dream, and how remarkably similar it was to what actually happened. Everything around this little girl is broken. She is on the verge of breaking herself, but she has managed to hold herself together. But I think that these games may be the thing that will break her too.


End file.
